Maine bear hunt, I screwed it up.

It happens. Do those yearlings eat as well as the young ones do in other species?

Yes they do.

Veal of the woods….. we’re only human yah know

I almost did the very same thing when I went to Maine. I watched a bear come in without a sound at last light. He walked over what looked like a boulder and I thought, "Its huge! Big as a boulder!"
The only reason that I didn't squeeze the trigger was that I remembered what my guide had said. "If a baya comes walkin' in like he's guilty of somthin', Its not a big baya."
A wicked big baya just walks in like he owns the place."
Once I climbed down out of the stand, I walked over to the "boulder", it turned out to be the size of a 5 gallon bucket. Almost shot Boo boo.

Did Boo-Boo have any hair on it ?

ROTFFALMAO

He was comparing the rock to the size of the bear.

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like really tough conditions. I can't imagine hunting in 90+ weather. Maybe fishing, but not hunting. He looked to be in good shape even if he was small.

That's good advice.

I've done the exact same thing (several times) Bernie.
I no longer wait till dark. When hunting thick canopy, I'm usually out of my stand 5 minutes before legal time.
Plus, even at close range,it can be tough to see the sweet spot.
Anyway, congrats.

Well they are going to claim a higher percent bear take in the advertising now.
Twilight searches are hard.

Does that mean the mosquitoes are well fed next year in Maine ?
From what I could see the mosquitoes flying around you were Aedes democatius and they only bite Republicans

they'd get pretty darn hungry in parts of the state.

Once again enjoyed the series. They are easier to pack out when they are that sizes lol. I know when I’m spot and Stalking bears in the oat fields ground shrinkage happens a lot!!

I get several of them a year they call and say it's 200lb and it 85lb and I'm not kidding.

Don't beat yourself up over it. Poop happens to everyone occasionally.

I enjoyed the videos as well. As for "screwing it up"........nope, your being too hard on yourself. I am one of those guys that is tickled pink with eater sized bears. I have said for years I will shoot the first spikehorn bear I see, and am happy as a clam to do it. As a retired taxidermist, you can imagine I have about all the mounted bear and rugs I can keep cleaned and dusted, so I go into season strickly to find bear meat. I have handled literally hundreds of hunter-shot bear over the years, and one thing is a given.....bear are very easy to mis-judge as far as size is concerned. As long as they are legal sized, I never really cared, but scores of guys have brought me bear to mount that shriveled a bit when they hit the ground. Even experienced bear guys such as yourself do it......I have before, and if I'm lucky enough to draw more tags, I will likely do it again. The flip side happens as well, I have walked up on a couple that grew a good deal after dying. Bonus! Again, I enjoyed the ride along on your Maine hunt.

It has happened to me. Shot this bear a few years ago in Manitoba. I did not see him or hear him come into the bait looked up and there he was. Then he layed down to eat. I have hunted bears before and know that once they start eating they will not stop until everything is gone. I did not wait too long and took my shot. First lesson do not shoot them while they are laying down as it compress the vitals and my shot ended up a little high. However the tracking job was a short one. Was still a great hunt. I was in Manitoba, saw lots of bears,
moose and caught a bunch of walleye.

Sorry Bernie my Dad was the only one who could do that without fault as for the rest of us mere mortals we can only shake our heads and stare at our shoes
On the bright side I predict your next Maine bear will be larger Great down to earth story